Images

Collecting samples for sediment analysis and measuring streamflow on the Shoshone River below Willwood Dam to describe hydrology and sediment transport during high flows due to releases from Buffalo Bill Dam. Data available at: http://ow.ly/TreW50AnYML

A USGS employee collecting data for the Lake Tahoe Nearshore Nutrient Source Identification Project.

Mineral elements provide the color in fireworks. Barium produces bright greens; strontium yields deep reds; copper produces blues; and sodium yields yellow. Other colors can be made by mixing elements: strontium and sodium produce brilliant orange; titanium, zirconium, and magnesium alloys make silvery white; copper and strontium make lavender.

Passive sediment sampling on Littlefield Creek

Researchers instruct volunteers on how to collect dragonfly larvae in Glacier NP as a part of the Dragonfly Mercury Project.

Peter Spatz making an ADCP measurement from the cable way at streamgage 13142500 Big Wood River below Magic Dam near Richfield, ID.

Sugar Creek, near New Palestine, Indiana. Sugar Creek is part of a long-term USGS stream monitoring project, and was one of 72 U.S.

White-nose syndrome has been detected in Washington. USGS scientist are helping the NPS design and evaluate bat sampling protocols for their Pacific Northwest parks.

Brad Huffman (SAWSC) holds the level rod during an annual set of levels at the historic Cataloochee Creek near Cataloochee, NC Stream gage 03460000 in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Geologists from Montana State University study an outcrop of diorite (a silicic igneous rock that cooled slowly beneath the ground). An outcrop of this size is important because it is easier to see any structural relations along with rock composition.

In the eastern portion of the lake, the dark brown zone had a slightly mottled appearance, but this pattern was transient and gone within about ten minutes.

Newly identified ash flow sheets within the Yellowstone–Snake River Plain volcanic province (Y-SRP).  The small inset in the center shows the track of the Yellowstone hotspot and its associated eruptive centers in light gray (M—McDermitt; OH—Owyhee-Humboldt; BJ—Bruneau-Jarbidge; TF—Twin Falls; P—Picabo; H—Heise; Y—Yellowstone).

A field crew collects sediment samples from Hoyt Lake in Buffalo, NY

Mitch McAdoo prepares an acoustic televiewer for borehole geophysical logging in Monroe County, WV.

USGS scientist Tabitha Graves collects western bumble bee samples in eastern Montana. 

The water lake within Halema‘uma‘u crater, at the summit of Kīlauea, continues to slowly rise, with no significant changes in recent weeks. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

The eastern end of the lake, shown here, is slightly warmer than the lake center, and commonly has steam rising from the water surface. USGS photo by M. Patrick.

A conceptual model of ecosystem services for the wetland habitats of Nisqually River Delta. Exogenous factors influence the quality and quantity of wetland habitat. This, in turn, controls the many functions that occur within wetlands. Ecosystem services, or benefits to people, are derived from the ability of wetlands to perform critical ecological functions.

A botanist collects vegetation data near the summit Pitamakin Mountain in Glacier National Park, Montana.

Alpine summits often support a great variety of vegetation species despite harsh environmental conditions. Bison Mountain GLORIA plot, Glacier National Park, Montana.

Hydrologists Jonathan Cohl and Bradley Bjorklund take field comparison readings while preparing for sampling at two depths of the Spruce Run Reservoir to collect discrete water quality samples.